Kiki's Delivery Service

Kirsten Dunst Director: Hayao Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki

Overview

Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this buoyant children's adventure yarn about a young witch striking out on her own. At her mother's behest, 13-year-old Kiki sets out on a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky command of her broom, she ends up in a charming little coastal town that looks like a cross between the French provincial and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the local hotels have a strict "no witches" policy and the police have taken a dim view of her recent aerial mischief-making. She's saved from the street by a kindly baker's wife, who offers her room and board in exchange for her delivering by broom the baker's wares. Soon she befriends a college-aged artist, an old women who fusses over her, and a boy her same age who is nursing a massive crush. All is well until she wakes up one day and realizes that she can't make her broom levitate nor can she talk to her cat. What will Kiki do?

Product Details

Release Date:	08/25/2020
UPC:	0826663208542
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	G
Source:	Shout Factory
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Sales rank:	2,025

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kirsten Dunst	Kiki
Phil Hartman	Jiji
Janeane Garofalo	Ursula
Matthew Lawrence	Tombo
Debbie Reynolds	Madame
Tress MacNeille	Osono
Edie McClurg	Barsa
Kath Soucie	Kiki's Mother
Jeff Bennett	Kiki's Father
Pamela Segall	Ket
Debi Derryberry	Senior Witch
June Angela	Voice Only
Corey Burton	Radio Announcer
Lewis Arquette	Voice Only
Fay deWitt	Voice Only
Susan Hickman	Voice Only
Sherry Lynn	Voice Only
Matt Miller	Voice Only
Scott Menville	Voice Only
Eddie Frierson	Voice Only
Julia Demita	Voice Only
John de Mita	Voice Only

Technical Credits

Hayao Miyazaki

Jack Fletcher

John Semper

Hayao Miyazaki	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Paul Chihara	Score Composer
Jack Fletcher	Screenwriter
Sydney Forest	Score Composer
Joe Hisaishi	Score Composer
Shuji Inoue	Sound/Sound Designer
Sunao Katabuchi	Asst. Director
Hiroshi Ono	Production Designer
Jane Schonberger	Executive Producer
John Semper	Screenwriter
Takeshi Seyama	Editor
Ernie Sheesley	Sound/Sound Designer
Shigeo Sudimura	Cinematographer
Toshio Suzuki	Associate Producer
Morihisa Takagi	Executive Producer
Kaoru Tanifuji	Special Effects
Yasuyoshi Tokuma	Executive Producer
Mikihiko Tsuzuki	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Before Harry Potter ever went to Hogwarts, Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki spun a charming tale about a young witch-in-training in his 1989 feature Kiki's Delivery Service. Thirteen-year-old Kiki leaves her home for one year to become an apprentice witch and learn how to live on her own. Moving into a coastal town with her talking cat, Jiji, Kiki struggles to fit into her new environment and opens her own delivery business courtesy of the only magical power she's good at: flying on her broomstick. Along the way, she makes new friends, struggles with the temporary loss of her magical abilities, and finally gains much in the way of self-confidence. A gentle coming-of-age story closer in tone to Miyazaki's Academy Award-winning Spirited Away than to his adventure film Castle in the Sky, Kiki is a movie that is low on conflict but high in subdued grace notes. Audiences can expect all the usual from a good Miyazaki film: strong storytelling, a child's sense of wonder, and gorgeous animation. Disney's fine English dub features voice stars Kirsten Dunst (as Kiki), Matthew Lawrence, Janeane Garofalo, Debbie Reynolds, and, in one of his last performances, Phil Hartman (as Jiji). Volk Lindsay

Barnes & Noble

A coming-of-age story with a unique international perspective, Kiki's Delivery Service is one of auteur animator Hayao Miyazaki's many family films with an almost-universal appeal. The story of 13-year-old witch Kiki leaving home to live on her own is one that reflects the basic human experience of growing up. While she fumbles with the logistics of being a witch, Kiki struggles with independent living skills and ponders some existential questions, posed so that a kid can relate to them. Perhaps appreciated by an audience older than the set for Miyazaki's delightful My Neighbor Totoro but not old enough for his epic Princess Mononoke, this film approaches the adolescent teenage girl years with an honest, intelligent grace. Without seeming heavy-handed, Kiki is helped on her journey by several women role models, notably Madame (voice of Debbie Reynolds), a pregnant baker who assists her in practical matters, and Ursula (voice of Janeane Garofalo), a friendly painter who is a springboard for her philosophical uncertainties. The city Kiki lands in is magical itself; though the characters are drawn in a typical Japanese anime style, the setting is not anchored in any particular time or place, with a mixture of European architecture and pop-culture references from several different decades. Keeping the pace fairly quick are the humorous bits from Kiki's black cat companion, Jiji (voice of Phil Hartman, in one of his last films), and the daring rescue scene where Kiki gets to save the day -- and the boy. Seemingly more accessible to a Western audience because of the setting, this adventure story manages to address life issues that adults still struggle with, while packing in enough action to keep an average kid entertained.

All Movie Guide - Andrea LeVasseur